WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Ohio State Solar Decathlon team placed 10th last weekend in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. Team Germany, from Technische Universität Darmstadt, placed first, and teams from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Santa Clara University in California finished second and third, respectively. 

Twenty teams of college and university students from all over the world were selected to compete, and each team was required to submit a house that could be powered exclusively by solar energy. 

Experts and professionals in architecture, building and lighting design, engineering, marketing and communications judged the teams in ten categories: architecture, market Viability, engineering, lighting design, communication (how well the team promoted the Decathlon and solar energy), comfort zone, hot water, appliances, home entertainment, and net metering, which judges on the balance of surplus energy. OSU placed in the top 10 for six of the categories. 

The competition was held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Judging took place between Oct. 8 and 18, and the houses were open for public tours from Oct. 9 through 18 (except on Oct. 14 when the houses were closed for judging). 

With the competition being held in D.C., OSU had some interesting visitors come tour their house. 

“It was a great source of pride to have members of Congress and the Secretary of Energy come and tour our house, allowing it to serve as an example to leaders of our nation of what the near-future holds for housing and alternative energy,” said James DeFrance, third-year in Middle Eastern studies and geographical information systems and member of OSU’s Solar Decathlon Team. 

This was OSU’s first time competing in the event. The team formed in the spring of 2007, and once they were accepted into the Decathlon in early 2008, they began work on their entry, titled “Solar House 1.” The house was built on a stretch of lawn across from the Ohio Union, and was transported to D.C. on a trailer. 

The team is comprised of about 60 students from a variety of majors. They designed and built “Solar House 1”, and members from the OSU School of Engineering, the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Knowlton School of Architecture administered the project. 

Unfortunately, the team ran into a few obstacles at the Decathlon. They had to replace their first water tank after it started leaking, and their second water tank had sediment in it which clogged up the plumbing. 

The team hopes to compete in the next Solar Decathlon in 2011, where DeFrance hopes they will be better prepared for any more unexpected obstacles. DeFrance said the team also would like to use less “off-the-shelf products” and more products designed by the students. 

To learn more about the competition and the Ohio State Solar Decathlon team, visit solardecathlon.osu.edu.